Red Star Belgrade secured a 3-0 victory over rivals Partizan Belgrade in the Serbian SuperLiga's Eternal Derby, but the match was interrupted when Partizan fans set fire to seats in the away end. Firefighters intervened to extinguish the blaze, allowing the game to resume after a brief suspension. The win extends Red Star's lead at the top of the table to four points.
The Eternal Derby at Rajko Mitic Stadium turned chaotic as Red Star Belgrade faced Partizan Belgrade in a crucial top-of-the-table Serbian SuperLiga encounter. The hosts took the lead before half-time through 17-year-old Vasilije Kostov, with Marko Arnautovic, formerly of Stoke City and West Ham United, doubling the advantage in the 56th minute.
At that point, with Red Star leading 2-0, tensions boiled over in the away section. Partizan supporters ignited a fire that engulfed part of the stands, forcing officials to halt play. Firefighters rushed to the scene to control the flames, and the match resumed in the 64th minute. Aleksandar Katai sealed the 3-0 win for Red Star with a goal in the 77th minute.
The result moves Red Star four points clear of Partizan, with 13 games remaining before the league splits into top and bottom groups after 30 matches. This season marks the last with 16 teams, as the SuperLiga will reduce to 14 next year and 12 in 2027-28, leading to four relegations this term.
Red Star, known as Crvena Zvezda domestically, are Europa League contenders, having drawn 1-1 with Celtic in September and won 1-0 away to Lille in last week's play-off first leg. They have been Champions League group stage participants in the past two seasons, including a famous 2-0 home win over Liverpool in 2018.
Post-match, Red Star defender Milos Veljkovic reflected: "I think we played a mature game. In the first half, they did a good job of pressing, but we scored the first goal at the right moment and that meant a lot to us. We played even better in the second half and deserved to win. I thank the fans for coming. It was one of the best games I've ever played."
His teammate Strahinja Erakovic added: "An important victory. We deserved to win. We are preparing for Thursday, now every next game is the most important for us. I also thank the fans. I'm not the most happy with how I played today. It doesn't matter that we won 3-0. Not to be rude, but I think that's a real strength of us and them right now. We could have played better in the first half and the result could have been better. We still showed that we are five times better team than them."
